# Do the British really have this stereotype of Americans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 29, 2013, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683 "2013-01-29T03:10:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr.Greenjeans](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.greenjeans/32/551_2.png) [@Mr.Greenjeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Greenjeans)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/21 "2013-01-29T12:31:53Z")
A British friend of mine always said that Douglas Adams intended Zaphod Beeblebrox to be a stereotypical American. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/22 "2013-01-29T16:00:27Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Look, remember that as far as ‘national characteristics’ go, Britons are in many ways culturally opposite to Americans – we are shy, socially awkward creatures who pain ourselves about being too loud or showy or breaking the Rules. Now, how **do** such introverted, diffident folk conquer an Empire, I do wonder? ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/23 "2013-01-29T16:45:45Z")
There’s also the loud, belligerent, demanding American in the “Waldorf Salad” episode of Fawlty Towers. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/24 "2013-01-29T16:55:19Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I can’t speak about the show you’re talking about having never seen it, but take a look at [this great scene from Monty Python](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tXtPygIL5E) portraying Americans in what is undoubtedly a very stereotypical way. Notice too how bad the American accents are to us… That’s not supposed to be a stereotypical American. It’s a spoof of Irving Thalberg. > [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > If you hadn’t told us, I would have had no idea that that clip is supposed a stereotype of American… er, film producers? Or something. That’s not a stereotype of Americans or even movie producers. It’s a parody of Irving Thalberg. The Graham Chapman character is even named Irving Saltzberg. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/25 "2013-01-29T17:00:46Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Now, how **do** such introverted, diffident folk conquer an Empire, I do wonder? With a pronounced Stiff Upper Lip. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/26 "2013-01-29T18:24:17Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > With a pronounced Stiff Upper Lip. Hm. And I always heard it was “in a fit of absence of mind.” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/27 "2013-01-29T18:26:44Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > And indeed, of all people Americans are some of the least likely to get stereotyped because of the significant influence of american culture and so everyone knows and sees how diverse a country it is. Ah, yes – [Eagleland Osmosis.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EaglelandOsmosis) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/28 "2013-01-29T18:30:21Z")
BTW, TVTropes being apparently in part or in origin a British-based site, I find their [America pages,](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IndexedStatesOfAmerica) especially [Useful Notes,](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates) fascinating in their explication of things commonplace to Yanks but, apparently, foreign enough to foreigners to require explication. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/29 "2013-01-29T19:00:27Z")
And in all fairness, here is how all Americans view British people: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0pR-UGmZpI) Trolly-hopping and puffing the billows, indeed! And of course some High Class British Porn: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weijnvNCxqY) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/30 "2013-01-29T19:25:43Z")
I think this image can be traced back to World War 2 and its aftermath. When the GIs first arrived in Britain to begin the build-up for Operation Overlord they had a reputation of being [“over-sexed, overpaid and over here.”](http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/05/a3370105.shtml) America’s vast comparative industrial wealth showed itself on the individual level, compared with Britain which had spent a year alone against Hitler’s Reich, suffering bombing due to the Luftwaffe and rationing due to the u-boat campaign. It was natural that some resentment would occur - the Axis attempted to play this up in propaganda (telling GIs that England would gladly fight to the last American for its imperialism and the British that while they fought and died Americans were busy seducing their women). In the last stages of the war Germany pinned one of its hopes for a peace with a breakdown between the Allies. It’s difficult to imagine now but Anglo-American relations were pretty frosty at times - Montgomery for example was almost universally despised by the American brass while he was held as a hero for the British. Eisenhower’s skilled diplomacy managed to smooth things over most of the time. Then when the war was won, it left Britain bankrupt (rationing went on until the '50s), she lost her Empire, lost her status as a Great Power. The two big winners were the Soviet Union and America, particularly America - there had been no fighting on her territory, no destruction of her cities, insignificant casualties when compared with the Soviets. Again some resentment would be natural, brashness, loudness, pushiness…during the war and after it the perception was that Americans were the only ones who could be. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/31 "2013-01-29T19:34:31Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Yeah, I never got that one. What business has any **Brit** in accusing Yanks of being too talkative?! Chatterbox-Land, that’s the UK! [Here’s another version of Python Americans](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkp7f8IxJNU)…this time they don’t know what to talk about so they have to get some cards from the waiter. This sketch is more a play on boring middle-aged people, though - not sure that it’s meant to specifically poke fun at Americans. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/32 "2013-01-29T19:38:20Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Look, remember that as far as ‘national characteristics’ go, Britons are in many ways culturally opposite to Americans – we are shy, socially awkward creatures who pain ourselves about being too loud or showy or breaking the Rules. It’s funny how national cultures can change over time – if Shakespeare is any guide, the English of his day were not terribly shy or awkward at all, likewise with Chaucer. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/33 "2013-01-29T19:48:43Z")
It certainly is a recognisable stereotype, though I haven’t seen it used for a long time (which doesn’t mean it hasn’t been used, of course - just not in the shows I watch). It’s partly affectionate, as many stereotypes are, and, as with most stereotypes, based somewhat on fact - American tourists tend to be a bit more effusive than Brits, and for some reason also louder. The latter doesn’t apply to Americans who live here, so it’s probably more to do with just being a tourist, but speaking the same language, so being more noticeable. And media barons are stereotyped as brash and arrogant regardless of their nationality. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/34 "2013-01-29T19:51:22Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > I think this image can be traced back to World War 2 and its aftermath. When the GIs first arrived in Britain to begin the build-up for Operation Overlord they had a reputation of being [“over-sexed, overpaid and over here.”](http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/05/a3370105.shtml) And over-gunny. I recall a saying of British troops of the time: “When the Germans fire, the British duck. When the British fire, the Germans duck. But when the Americans fire, _everybody_ ducks.” ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/35 "2013-01-29T20:04:01Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Well, it’s a stereotype, and stereotypes are rarely flattering, but yes, Brits would recognise an American stereotype that is loud, opinionated, lacking in social graces. Maybe it’s that fork-switching thing you do. 😉 > > Look, remember that as far as ‘national characteristics’ go, Britons are in many ways culturally opposite to Americans – we are shy, socially awkward creatures who pain ourselves about being too loud or showy or breaking the Rules. My Brazilian friend finds our inhibitions hilarious. So forgive us if our stereotype of Americans highlights the things we find socially excruciating, but others wouldn’t care about. > > Of course none of this means the stereotype is true, or that we even believe it of you. Well, apart from Texans perhaps. One of my old apartment buildings had a youth hostel in the basement, so we regularly saw 20-somethings from all over the world. The Brits were funny in that they were highly offended at US stereotypes of them, but clung determinedly to theirs about Americans. We had a long discussion about “Love, Actually” where one character is certain that his accent will draw the ladies like flies in the US, and so flies to Milwaukee - where everyone is dressed like they’re performing in a production of “Oklahoma,” and he’s promptly invited home for a 4-way, iirc. And he returns to England with, I want to say Densie Richards?, dressed in cowboy boots and fringed leather vest. And they seriously wouldn’t let it go, they were so certain. A friend of mine even offered to drive them to Milwaukee, it got so insane. They weren’t the only ones, or the worst. If I’d had one more white South African earnestly explain to me that while obviously I was okay, but their blacks were all retards who couldn’t be expected to manage their own lives… ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/36 "2013-01-29T20:13:15Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > I didn’t even eat the salmon mousse. Anyroad, who was the one sitting at the near end of the table beside Terry Gilliam? In addition to the Python regulars, the other guest is the original Arthur Dent, Simon Jones. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/37 "2013-01-29T20:16:29Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > I didn’t even eat the salmon mousse. Anyroad, who was the one sitting at the near end of the table beside Terry Gilliam? Not sure what position you’re describing. The person who is not one of the Pythons (far right) is [Simon Jones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Jones_(actor)). The person nearest the camera (far left, back to us) is Graham Chapman. Edit: Shakes fist at **Ms Boods**. ---
**Author:** ![Dublin11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Dublin11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dublin11)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/38 "2013-01-29T20:36:05Z")
> [@Anamorphic](#): > > There’s also the loud, belligerent, demanding American in the “Waldorf Salad” episode of Fawlty Towers. Basil Fawlty manages to make a lot of people loud, belligerent and demanding, though. He got soundly thumped because he infuriated the very English Bernard Cribbins, a spoon salesman, because Basil had mistaken for a hotel inspector “I’m not a violent man, Mr Fawlty” WALLOP. The German man whose wife Fawlty upsets with his goosestep gets very loud and aggravated and shouts at Basil. In one episode he gets into arguments with an elderly English lady who can’t hear too well. The man with the facial tic, whose name is something like Mr Twitching ends up getting pretty annoyed with Basil. So yes, there is that American stereotype in Fawlty Towers, but Basil’s ability to get peoples’ backs up transcends nationality, I think. ---
**Author:** ![FrankJBN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@FrankJBN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrankJBN)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/39 "2013-01-29T21:55:57Z")
“I think this image can be traced back to World War 2 and its aftermath” Earlier than that. The ‘ugly American’ is a fairly stock charaterization in pre-war English mystery novels / stories. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/40 "2013-01-29T23:32:01Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I can’t speak about the show you’re talking about having never seen it, but take a look at [this great scene from Monty Python](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tXtPygIL5E) portraying Americans in what is undoubtedly a very stereotypical way. Notice too how bad the American accents are to us… > [@Smapti](#): > > I would’ve gone with [this Monty Python clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR5Z4n1TdSI) instead. I’d have to say splunge. > [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > I think this image can be traced back to World War 2 and its aftermath. When the GIs first arrived in Britain to begin the build-up for Operation Overlord they had a reputation of being [“over-sexed, overpaid and over here.”](http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/05/a3370105.shtml) . The Americans countered by saying the British were undersexed, underpaid and under Eisenhower. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683.md?page=3)